Dear Parents,

I’ve recently returned from an incredible 11 weeks of professional renewal and holiday leave—an experience that was both refreshing and deeply meaningful. I was lucky enough to witness the Up Helly Aa fire festivals in the Shetland Islands, explore current Maths teaching approaches in England, experience deeply moving Catholic Easter traditions. A true privilege was volunteering during the Year of Jubilee in Rome, which included assisting pilgrims at St Peter’s Basilica, visiting all four Holy Door basilicas, and being at the funeral of Pope Francis—an experience I’ll never forget.

Along the way, I visited historic monasteries like those at Subiaco, Loreto and Monte Oliveto, wandered through stunning Italian countryside, and ended with a breathtaking train journey through the Swiss Alps. I feel incredibly blessed to have had this time, to reflect, pray and rejuvenate and I’ve come home with many treasured memories.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Nicole Charnock, who led the school with professionalism and care in my absence, and to the wider leadership team for their dedicated support. It was reassuring to know the school was in such good hands while I was away.

Catholic Schools Week

This week, St Joseph’s had a wonderful time celebrating Catholic Schools Week with a variety of meaningful and joyful activities that truly brought our school community together.

Tuesday afternoon saw an incredible turnout of parents for our open classrooms. Teachers were delighted not only by the number of families who visited but also by the enthusiastic participation and engagement during the activities. It was wonderful to see our school community so connected and involved.

We began Wednesday with a special prayer assembly attended by staff from the diocese. Our students shared heartfelt reflections on what it means to be part of a Catholic school family, and especially what St Joseph’s means to them. The diocesan guests were deeply impressed by the genuine care and warmth displayed between students — a beautiful example of living out our school motto every day.

The week’s celebrations culminated in a beautiful Mass led by Fr Greg. The children took an active role in the service, supported by our dedicated parents and parish members. Following Mass, parents and parishioners joined us for a lovely morning tea, strengthening the bond between school and parish.

To wrap up the week, our Year 6 students organised a fun and exciting session of games and activities for everyone, celebrating the spirit of Catholic Schools Week with energy and joy.

Throughout all our events, we kept close to the themes of “Pilgrims on a Mission” and “Hope,” reflecting the goals of this special Jubilee year. It has been a memorable week filled with faith, friendship, and community spirit.

Thank you to all who joined us in celebrating what makes St Joseph’s such a special place to learn and grow.

Inaugural Awards Evening

Last  Friday evening the Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle community gathered at NEX in Newcastle to honour excellence in Catholic education.

The evening commenced with the recognition of top-performing 2024 HSC students from across the Diocese. Followed by the 25 Years of Service Awards which acknowledged staff members who have devoted 25 years to Catholic education. We then celebrated The Emmaus Awards recipients.  These awards recognise staff members who have made significant contributions to Catholic education within the Diocese. A key moment of the night was when our very own, Angela Samuels, received the Emmaus Award for Schools Services Support.

Angela’s husband and daughter were present for this special occasion as were Nicole, Renata and me.  We had a terrific evening celebrating all the recipients but were thrilled when it was Angela’s turn to receive her award.  Our school would not be the school it is today, without Angela, and we are so grateful for all she is and all she does.

Annual School Visit

On Wednesday the diocesan Chief Operating Officer, Lisa Tierney, and the Director of Catholic Schools, Jacqueline Wilkinson, led a team of other key CSO and diocesan Shared Services staff in our Annual School Visit.  The purpose of this team visiting our school was to build a shared understanding of our context. Conversations, presentations, classroom visits and discussions with staff and students took place to identify the school’s strengths, challenges and next steps based on data and evidence. We anticipate a formal report in the coming weeks, that we will share with you, however, throughout the day we received lots of positive affirmations around what we are doing and what we have achieved and for the strong, welcoming community that we are.  Suggestions were given along the way in regards to some things and the greatest news we received was the confirmation that the QUAD/Library building project, though it has been delayed, is definitely going ahead!

Have a lovely long weekend,
Karen
Principal